


The High School AU Known as "SiMoN sPaRkLeS"

by outofordxr



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Adam is trans, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Normal High School, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Carl is a Little Shit, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gay Male Character, Gen, High School, Homecoming, Homecoming Dance, Homecoming Game, Horny Teenagers, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Multi, References to Depression, Religious Conflict, Religious Guilt, Slurs, Teen Angst, Teen Crush, Teen Romance, Teenagers, chloe has sisters, chloe is bisexual, connor plays baseball, delinquent Markus, ex girlfriend north, fight me, just read it, kara is alice's sister, luther has a learning disability, markus is gay gay gay, no beta we die like men, simon is a catholic boy, simon sparkles, sumo is still the best boy, todd is in jail, zlatko is in jail
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-08-10 01:48:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16461131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/outofordxr/pseuds/outofordxr
Summary: Connor Anderson is the new kid at Jericho Public High School, and doesn't really know what is going on half the time in social situations.Kara Williams is a foster kid who cares more about her little sister than herself, even if she has the ability to get into any college she wants to.Markus Manfred is the delinquent prodigy son of the local artist and mansion dweller, whose sights are locked on the preacher's gorgeous son.This is their story.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Erich/Simon](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Erich%2FSimon).



> This originally began as my brother and I shitposting in a group chat, but then I needed to see it put out in to the world correctly.

“Connor.”

“Yes, Lieutenant Dad?”

Hank paused mid sip of coffee and gave his son a look of forced annoyance, eyes narrowed and lips pulled back in to a thin grimace. He continued to drink his coffee, and set it on top of the newspaper sitting on the kitchen table. Connor looked up curiously, wondering why Hank had stopped whatever he was going to say.

“What were you going to say?” Connor asked, going back to spreading dark purple jam on a slice of toast, his lips quirking up in to a smile.

“Just… Hurry up. I have to drop you off at school and go to work in like fifteen minutes.” Hank grumbled from behind his mug. He cranes his neck to see what Connor was doing, and sighed heavily. “ _ Jesus christ _ , Connor. Do you really need that much jam? You’re gonna drown the damn bread.”

“Bread isn’t capable of drowning.” Connor smirked, enjoying the huff of frustration his father gave him.

“Don’t be a prick.”

Connor turned and maneuvered to sit down across from his dad, nudging his foot into Sumo’s thick fur and rubbing. The dog had claimed his spot underneath the table, like every morning, and laid on his side as if simply existing exhausted his large body. Connor took a large bite of his toast and chewed.

“Do you need me to walk you in?” Hank watched his son, tapping a pen on his newspaper. “I don’t want you to get confused and get lost.”

“That would be appreciated,” Connor smiles around his toast.

ဝ

Kara’s eyes opened and flicked to her window. Her arm was asleep as a result from her little sister laying on it. She inhaled the stuffy air and breathed out before turning and shaking Alice. The girl was in a deep sleep, clutching one of their thin blankets to her chin, and being nestled into the space beside Kara.

“Alice, wake up.”

Alice’s eyes opened with a flutter, and she looked up at her elder sister. She had to blink her eyes to comfortably look up, while the bright light from the cloudy sky outside lit their room up. She smiled sleepily, rubbing the grogginess from her eyes.

“First day of school,” Kara smiled, sitting her up. “Let’s get ready. I think Rose made you a lunch.”

“Do you think she got Gushers?” Alice asked hopefully.

“I’m sure she got something like that.” Kara smiled, eyes crinkling as she sat up. She wiggled her way to the end of the bed, and helped Alice out of bed. “Let’s go make sure your teeth are nice and white for your first day.”

Alice giggles and lets Kara guide her to the bathroom. She steps up onto the step stool and looks in to the mirror, while Kara began to run a brush through the child’s hair. Alice made herself busy by brushing her teeth with an electric toothbrush covered in stickers of a cartoon kitty cat.

“Kara! Alice!” Rose called from the lower level of the farm house. “The bus is scheduled to get here in the next fifteen minutes!”

“Coming!” Kara hollered around the rubber band between her lips. She finishes braiding Alice’s hair and pats the girl’s shoulder. “Go get in to the outfit I set out last night. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

After Kara washed her short black hair in the sink and changed into a comfortable pair of jeans, she met her siblings at the breakfast table. Luther sat in the seat facing the front door like every morning, Alice beside him staring down at a half eaten blueberry poptart, and Rose washed the dishes in the deep basin sink.

“Luther,” Kara said, earning a curious glance from the young giant. “Did you finish your english paper?”

“He said he got an extension on it.” Rose answered, smiling sweetly at the two, absentmindedly drying a plate.

“I’ll help you with it tonight after dinner, okay?” Kara smiled, patting his shoulder. Luther gave her a grateful nod, smiling at Alice when she looked up. Kara turned to Rose, beginning to pour herself a glass of orange juice. “Alice was curious what you got for her lunches and snacks?”

“That’s a surprise, pumpkin,” Rose smiled knowingly at Alice. “You’ll just have to wait until you eat lunch.

“Kara, can you do me a favor and get a slip for free lunches today, baby?” She continued to speak, face dropping to a serious maternal guardian. “I’ve got to renew your’s and sign Luther up.”

“Yes, Rose.”

ဝ

“Do you have practice after school today?” Hank asked, pulling in to the drop off circle in front of Jericho Public High School. He parked and leaned back to stare at his son, who glanced nervously at the crowd of students swelling out of the doors.

“No,” Connor answers, looking at his father. “Coach wants us to attend the club fair after school.”

“So, what time should I pick you up?”

“Three forty-five?”

“Sounds good.” Hank nods. “A’right, kid, get the fuck outta my car and have a good day.”

“See you, Dad,” Connor smiles, getting out of the car and slinging his backpack over one shoulder. He waves at Hank as the car peels away from the curb, and stands lamely before sighing at glancing back at the building.

After studying his schedule for a couple of minutes, Connor finds his first class and sits in the desk in the very middle of the front row. He sat up straight as the instructor wandered in and out multiple times, and other students began to file in.

A girl sat beside him and he looked at her curiously. She had long blonde hair pulled in to a neat braid, and her lips pouted in a way that he couldn’t help but find interesting. After minutes of staring, she finally noticed and turned to him, sending a pink flush of embarrassment up to Connor’s face. The girl smiled and held out her hand.

“Hello,” she beamed, not phased by his anxious grip. “I’m Chloe, and you must be the new student.”

“Connor.” The boy simply stated.

“Nice to meet you, Connor,” Chloe was warm and welcoming, and very pretty. The instructor stopped in front of her desk and tapped the surface to get her attention. Connor listened to the teacher telling Chloe to guide Connor in his first week of school.

“How did you know that I was new?” He asked curiously, earning a smile from his peer.

“I know all the students,” the girl simply smiled, as if it were obvious. “My sisters were in prior graduating classes, and my father is the superintendent.”

“That sounds very exciting.” Connor responded. He briefly remembered seeing a large portrait of a man in the lobby of the building. He was pale, and had his dark hair slicked back. Connor thought he looked like a vampire or super villain, but everyone seemed to respect him like an uncle.

The instructor took his place at the head of the classroom, starting attendance while stragglers slunk to the remaining seats. He cleared his throat: “Connor Anderson?”

“Present.”

*

Markus Manfred was different. Not just because an accident when he was a kid left his eye discoloured, or the fact that he was adopted, either. His father, Carl, was just a little unconventional. Anyone could see that, especially when Markus could be spotted jimmying the lock on a metal door labeled  _ STAFF ONLY _ , around the side of Jericho Public High School minutes before class let out for the day.

There was really no need for him to be as sneaky as he was. Carl knew the superintendent personally, and had explained to him Markus’ desire to attend extra-curriculars only. The boy seemed to be one of the public child prodigies of the Wayne County area. His artistic skills were incredible, and his singing was above average. He used his skills to spread political messages, instead. He seemed like a textbook punk, down to the dirty sneakers that made no noise as he hustled down the hallway of the school.

“Excuse me…”

Markus ignored whoever it was, walking quicker toward his destination.

“ _ Excuse me! _ ” The voice called again. A hand clamped down on Markus’ shoulder and spun him around. The teenage boy stumbled back a bit, furrowing his brows as he focused in on the person. He nearly stopped breathing when he met eyes with the angelic boy before him. The blond teen crossed his arms as if annoyed by the intruder. “Visitors aren’t allowed during the last hour unless authorized by Principal Stern, I’m afraid.”

“I’m here for a volleyball game--”

“Volleyball tournaments don’t start for another week.”

“Oh,” Markus’ heart stuttered and he looked passed the hall monitor’s shoulder. He forced a nervous laugh. “Ah,  _ silly me _ . I really have to visit one of the players real quick, anyway. Talk to the coach about the season, y’know…”

The blond arched his brow and smiled, unimpressed. He tilted his head forward, more like he was curious than agitated. His icy eyes darkened from the motion and Markus had to look away. The blond had to stop himself from leaning any closer, “What’s your name?”

The shrill ring of the bell made the him jump as students flooded the hallway. Markus smirked and nodded to the blond before slipping away against the current, while the hall monitor was carried the opposite direction.

“ _ Markus _ , there you are.”

The delinquent looked up and grinned at North, his ex-girlfriend and best friend. She had a huge smile on her face as they hugged. Her auburn hair smelled like coconut and Markus had to admit that he missed the thick, sweet smell. Her lithe arms squeezed him tightly before letting go, and allowing their good friend, Josh, a hug from Markus.

“How was Mexico?” Markus asked North as soon as he had the chance.

“Absolute shit,” she laughed flatly. “How about you? How was Ravena?”

Josh cut in: “Markus didn’t go with Carl. He went up north instead.”

“You promised me something from Dante’s tomb!”

Markus chuckled, as he stepped up to the white board and began to write in big neat letters.  _ Forensics Club - Intro Meeting _ in big green letters, and he continued to write more information under the header. He turns and addresses the other members of the club, including Josh and North.

“Welcome to Jericho Forensics,” he smiles at a Freshman, who looked down nervously. Markus’ blue and green eyes flicked from one student to the next, and his hand reached up to scratch the stubble at his jaw. “My name is Markus, and I am one of the...coaches.”

“I’ve never seen you around here before.” A sophomore chirps from the back of the cluster.

“I technically don’t attend school here, but I can never back out of a debate.” Markus practically winked, crossing his arms and leaning against the board behind him. “I joined this club in my Freshman year of highschool, just before I dropped out. North, Josh, and I have all carried this club on our shoulders, and plan on training you all to do the same. Whether you are new, or returning members, we welcome you and promise an exciting year ahead of us.”

“Markus is our leader.” North proclaims, putting her hands on her hips. Markus cringed slightly, bothered by the idea of ruling a group.

“Think of me as more of a guiding force.” He sighed, grinning in embarrassment. “ _ Anyway _ , before we get to anything fun…”

He nods to Josh who immediately takes Markus’ spot and begins to explain the events on the board; the club fair, and the open house. Markus kept remembering that hall monitor and wondered if he would keep getting in the way.


	2. Chapter 2

Connor milled about the cafeteria, looking at poster board displays of clubs and other after school activities that he had little interest in. He was passing by a yellow poster for the culinary club when he spotted a familiar blonde walking toward him. She smiled and waved, clipboard hugged to her chest. Trailing behind Chloe was a man no taller than Connor, dressed lazily in a tee shirt, hoodie, and blazer. Upon further inspection, the new student realized that it was her father, Elijah Kamski.

“Hey Connor!” Chloe grinned, pulling him in for a brief hug. “I was hoping to see you here… Daddy, this is the new Senior: Connor Anderson.”

“Lovely to meet you, Connor.” Mr. Kamski smirked, reaching out to shake the other’s hand. Connor met him halfway, despite his mind reeling from the quick conversation. He felt small under the man’s gaze, even if they were the same height.

“A pleasure to meet you, Sir.”

Chloe beamed, glancing between the two and biting her lower lip. She glanced down at her clipboard and used it as a segway during the small lull in conversation. “Connor, you should join the student council! We don’t have anyone nominated for Senior Class Rep, and no one has applied yet, either.”

“Erm, sure,” he stammered, surprised at the quick invitation. “I’ve never had experience with… Um, sure.”

“While you’re at it, Connor,” Mr. Kamski drawled, catching the boy’s attention. “Check out our Forensics Club. You might like it.”

Connor paused in signing Chloe’s sheet, and locked eyes with the man. His ice blue eyes sent a thrill through the student’s body, and he had to rip his stare away with a gulp. He nodded, and muttered a  _ yes, Sir _ . He hastily scribbled his name on the paper and handed back the clipboard to Chloe, who seemed to be oblivious to the bedroom eyes her father was giving Connor. The young man said his goodbyes to the two, and slipped past, feeling nervous under the superintendent's stare.

“Hey,” Markus greeted Connor with a smile when he got to the table, clapping a hand down on the boy’s shoulder. “You interested in debate?”

“Not really--” Connor practically punched himself. “I mean-- It’s never crossed my mind before. I didn’t mean--”

“Relax,” the other chuckled, leading him to the posterboard plastered with photographs of past years and previous teams. “I saw Elijah Kamski send you this way.”

Connor nodded, looking at each and every picture curiously. A majority of them held a trio of Markus, a female, and a taller male. They were all grinning, laughing, or smirking. He moved on to reading the information on the fins of the board, as the leader recited the facts aloud.

“My name is Markus.” The other teen started. He pointed at different pictures, while keeping an arm slung around Connor’s shoulder. “That’s North, and that’s Josh. We’re the oldest members, and we’ve been running it for a while. Here’s the club at a rally two years ago, we made those tee shirts ourselves. That’s us after winning regionals last year, and we went to a field trip kind of thing the next day; right over here. We do fundraisers a lot, like this one--a face painting booth at the Spring openhouse…”

“What about this one?” Connor asked, pointing to a picture of the group sitting around an older man. He had a triumphant smile on, and looked like he was the grandfather to the entire club.

“That’s my dad,” Markus smiled softly, staring down at the portrait. “Every year, after the competitions end and stuff, he and I organize a school-wide party using a portion of won money from states.”

“Would I have to compete?”

“Nah, but I encourage it. I don’t see an issue in just participating in club activities, though.” Markus shrugged, already reaching for a sign of sheet that Connor could sign. “No reason to force you to do anything.”

*

“Do you think Alice got home okay?” Luther asked, trudging through the already falling leaves. He stared down at the sidewalk, quiet like usual. Kara glanced at him, his grip tight on the straps of his backpack.

“Lu,” Kara cooed, craning her neck to get a look at his solemn face. Her voice was just as calm as it always was.  “Alice is going to be absolutely fine. She’s smart, and she’s a strong girl. Adam promised to pick her up and walk home with her.”

The boy softened a little at that, smiling down at his sister gratefully. He always felt anxious about his younger foster sister. After the things that Kara and Alice had gone through with their father, Todd, Luther found himself worrying about them constantly. Especially because of Alice’s nightmares and panic attacks, Luther felt that he needed to protect them with his life.

“She’s too young to have gone through what she did.” Luther mumbled. Kara scoffed softly, and nudged him with her elbow.

“You’ve been through a lot too, Mister,” she found his small smile endearing. The two of them always found ways to calm one another’s nerves in situations like this. “Don’t minimize your hardships.”

“Yes, Kara.”

She was grateful that he didn’t fawn over her like he did with Alice. She didn’t like to think about the things she had been through, and had nearly suppressed most of the memories of her time with Todd. She dreaded the day that they resurfaced to haunt her. For now, she focused more on Alice.

“Do you think Adam would want to go to the homecoming game on Friday?” Kara asked, thinking to herself as the two rounded the corner of trees into their yard. Luther simply shrugged, and she knew she would have to ask Adam herself. She could see Alice in the front window, doing something with her backpack. Kara and her brother made the small hike to the front porch and got inside of the house.

“Kara!” Alice smiled, trotting to her older sister for a hug.

“Good afternoon, Alice,” the teen beamed, stroking the child’s black hair. “Did you finish your homework?”

“Yeah, and Rose said that I get to help her make dinner tonight!” Alice moved to hug Luther next, who smiled thankfully. The girl dropped her voice to a whisper as if she were trading a top secret statement. “We’re making Sloppy Joe’s tonight.”

Kara’s stomach flipped for a moment, but she simply nodded and gave a weak smile, “Be careful.

“Where’s Adam?” She asked after a pause. She already knew the answer, but waited anyway. It worried Kara how much Adam kept to himself and stayed in his room. By the time she got up there, she could hear his music playing through the wooden door. She knocked gently, loud enough to be heard.

A grunt answered her, and she twisted the knob slowly and opened the door. Adam was laying back on his bed, staring at the ceiling fan rotating slowly above him as if it were the television. He spent most of his afternoons like this; coming home and finishing whatever homework he had, before either sleeping, playing video games, or listening to music. It worried everyone in the household, and if Kara heard Rose correctly during her phone calls, it worried Adam’s teachers as well.

Kara took a seat on the corner of Adam’s mattress, before looking down at the blank-faced boy. She offered a gentle smile, which Adam did not return. He kept watching the petals of the fan cycle around and around.

“How was your first day?” She asked, genuinely curious as to how his day had gone.

“Hm,” Adam shrugged, reaching down to lower the volume of his music. “Okay, I guess.”

_ Uh oh _ . “Okay, I guess” roughly translated to not so great. Kara took her spot beside the other teenager, and laid back with him. She looked up at the fan and willed herself to see whatever it was that held so strongly on to his attention.

“What happened?”

“Just… I dunno.” He sighed. “Some guys at lunch weren’t too happy to see me. It’s fine.”

Kara knew what he meant. He was being called names again. _Tranny. Dyke._ Even the n-word had been thrown at him. She had witnessed it happen once or twice when she had first began living with Rose and Adam. It was frustrating for all of them.

“You’re more of a man than any of them combined, Adam.” Kara sighed, rolling on to her side to stare intensely at her foster brother. He finally turned his head to look at Kara, and smiled sadly. She knew he didn’t fully believe her, but he must have appreciated the sentiment.

“Thanks, Kara.”

*

Markus folded the posterboard up, and handed it off to one of the lowerclassmen of the club. He gave a small, dazzling smile and nodded in the direction of the exit, accompanying his request: “Mind stashing this back in the classroom?”

He turned back around and grabbed the last remaining ball-point pens from the table. The boy retrieved some stray flyers from the ground, and a picture that had fallen off the poster during the busy event. It was North, Josh, and him all gathered around his father, Carl, grins on all of their faces. Markus remembered the day fondly, as his first competition. He had taken second place, the only underclassman to get in to the top 3 spots.

“Hey, Markus,” Josh clapped a large, yet slender hand down on Markus’ shoulder. “North and I are going to grab pizza. Wanna chill?”

“Not tonight, man.” The shorter of the two answered solemnly. He looked up, however, and smiled as genuinely as he ever did. “I’ve had enough human interaction for one day. Plus, Dad and I are eating alone tonight, for once. I wanna make supper for him instead of catering like usual.”

“No Leo tonight?”

Markus gave the other teen a knowing look, and Josh nodded in understanding before looking down apologetically. Markus sighed and nudged his friend playfully, “Don’t make that face. We knew it was coming.”

“Josh! Markus! _ You coming? _ ”

The two boys turned to look at North and both huffed out laughs of exhaustion. They turned back to their original positions and gave one another a smile. They bumped fists and Josh turned to start toward the female.

“See you, man.”

“I’ll see you at the game on Friday, right?” Markus quirked a brow at his friends. They nodded eagerly before actually parting. The boy yawned and continued to help the custodian pick up torn flyers and crumpled pamphlets that students had discarded carelessly. The only thing he didn’t throw away was the photograph of his friends and father. He stuffed it in to the front pocket of his jeans. Markus sighed, reaching the large garbage can in the middle of the cafeteria and throwing the litter away.

Carl was starting to cause some concern. He was having more and more trouble getting out of bed in the morning, and with Leo eating up the family’s funds with his constant benders and attempts at recovery, Markus was unsure what could be done. His dad’s condition was obviously getting worse, but he was already on cocktails of meds that not even a general practitioner would have imagined before seeing him.

Markus wanted to do something for his father, with this year’s prize money. He already knew what Carl would say, though.  _ Use it for college, Markus. _ Markus couldn’t fathom doing that, however. Not when there was so much he wanted to show his dad, or share with him. Even if it was taking Carl out to a restaurant that they both loved.

“Excuse me?”

The teenager turned around to meet eyes with the blond from days before. He sucked in a sharp breath and blinked a couple of times. The fluorescent lights combined with the sunshine pouring in from the outside made the other boy glow, and Markus was damned if it was actually his eyesight. He swallowed thickly, and cleared his throat before throwing a smile to the hall monitor.

“ _ Markus _ , wasn’t it?” The cherubim asked. Markus nodded a little and took a step back, ready to talk his way out of this scolding. “I wanted to apologize for the other day.”

_ Oh. _

“I didn’t realize that you were a coordinator for an extra-curricular. It was kind of rude of me to--”

“No worries,” he hides his surprise and cocks a brow. This kid was gorgeous, and it was throwing Markus off. The blond could can committed a felony and Markus would still have this goofy grin on his face. “We all make mistakes. I forgive...you…”

He noticed the simple gold cross hanging on a chain around the boy’s neck just as he said that, and had to stop himself from giggling at the coincidence. Markus scratched his jaw in a poor attempt to wipe his smug grin away.

“I’m Simon, by the way.” The boy held out a pale, shaking hand to Markus. The gesture was so formal and robotic that it seemed like it had been conditioned in to Simon. Markus took the other’s hand and gave it a firm, yet friendly shake. It was cold, and nervous, but Markus found it endearing nonetheless. “Simon Mcloughlin.”


	3. Chapter 3

Lieutenant Hank Anderson was well regarded among his peers at the Detroit Police Department’s 5th Precinct. He had been top of his class, as well as youngest lieutenant in the history of the city. He was rough around the edges, and tend to bark out whatever he were saying like he were throwing insults at the world. Connor, however, knew that it was just the way his father was. The older man never meant anything by it, although it did put Connor in the role of an intimidated son and just that. He did not feel like he would meet criteria to be considered his father’s best friend.

Did that stop him from trying, and occasionally succeeding?  _ Absolutely not. _

That’s why, when Friday afternoon rolled around, Connor got in to his father’s

vehicle in front of the school, and immediately relaxed to the sound of Hank’s favorite jazz radio. He seemed to be in a good mood. Connor practically didn’t even need a plan. He buckled his seat belt and glanced at the graying cop with dark, warm eyes.

“How was work, Dad?”

Hank made a face, never quite used to how formal his younger son was despite their familial relationship. Connor’s older brother, Richard, was a spitfire teenager with mood regulation issues and bad taste in men. This caused him to pick fights with the often exhausted old man, and ultimately caused his “exile” as it was jokingly referred to by some.

“Same shit, different day.” The lieutenant sighed, peeling away from the curb and merging in to the suburban street. Connor simply nodded, staying quiet as to urge his father on. Hank took the hint easily. “Fowler still has me on office duty for a little bit, just until--”

“October 15,” Connor finished, taking the weight off of his father’s chest and the strain out of his voice. “You had mentioned it before. It’s alright, Dad. You’ll be back in the field in no time.”

“How was school?” Hank returned the gesture of obligatory paternal curiosity.

“It was...decent.”

“Just decent?”

“Yes,” Connor lifted his hand to nestle the point of his dimpled chin in the juncture between thumb and forefinger knuckle. “Everyone was more excited about Homecoming, and so we didn’t have very productive classes at all.”

Hank snorted, the corner of his lip pulling into a tight smirk under his silver facial hair. The car was between neighborhoods now, passing by Connor Street where the precinct lie. Connor Anderson always found it funny that he shared a name with the street that his father worked on. He didn’t blame him, however. The older cop practically breathed the law at one point, throwing himself into his work to distract from any crisis that put his then newly acquired sobriety in danger.

“Ho-Co, eh?” The older man puffed out a breath in lieu of a laugh. “You got a date to the dance?”

“No.” Connor shrugged, looking down at the sleeves of his cerulean and grey varsity jacket to pick at the beaded fabric collecting on the cuffs. He wondered if Chloe would be interested in accompanying him in a platonic manner to the dance, but the teenage boy’s anxiety choked him up when he thought too hard about it.

“C’mon, Connor,” Hank smiled, nudging the boy’s arm playfully. “You’re a total lady killer-- Or dude killer, if you want. Or both, hell I don’t discriminate.”

The boy laughed a little, cheeks turning rosy. He shook his head slightly, and swiped the pad of his thumb across the tip of his nose, a nervous tic he had picked up from Richard’s fiance. Connor looked at Hank and smiled a little. His father focused on the road, but did glance over and offer a small smile in response.

_ Here it goes, Connor. _

“Dad, can we go to the homecoming game tonight? I thought you might enjoy it.”

He saw his father nearly slam the brakes of the automobile, out of shock that his teenage son wanted to spend time with him. Hank did stop at a red light, and turned his shoulders to give Connor a look of utter confusion. Finally, he shrugged and turned his attention back to the road, as he turned on to their street.

“Might as well,” Hank scoffed, continuing to mutter. “Not like I have anything better to do… You’re so fuckin’ weird, Connor.”

*

Kara sighed, picking at the steamed vegetables on her plate. She glanced at Alice, who had finished her own dinner and was working on a math worksheet for school. It was long division, something that the girl was too stubborn to admit defeat in. Despite her frustrated sighing and fidgeting, the child kept denying any guidance that her older sister offered. Finally, she gave.

“I don’t get it.” Alice grumbled. She shoved the sheet of paper in Kara’s direction, and put her head in her folded arms. Kara could hear the tightness in her sister’s voice, a common tell that Alice had hit her limit. “Math is stupid!”

“Alice,” Kara stood up, and crouched beside her sister. She ran a hand over the child’s jerking back, trying to sooth her. “I know that it seems hard right now, but you can do this. You’re very smart.”

“No, I’m not. I’m a girl.” Alice pouted, sitting up enough to wipe her nose on her sleeve. Kara’s brows knit together in confusion at the statement.

“What does that have anything to do with it?”

“The boys in school say that girls can’t do math. We can only read.”

The older girl scoffed, and stood up. She murmured that she would be back, and hurried through the living room and up the stairs to her and Alice’s room. She rifled through the sparkling blue backpack that Alice had just gotten the week before. From it, Kara pulled a spiral notebook with a silly photo on the front of a puppy wearing a robot outfit. She cringed at the wide ruled paper, but grabbed a pencil nonetheless.

She met Alice in the kitchen again, and sat down in her chair again. The scrape of the chair was audible when Kara pulled herself closer to the nine year old. She opened the notebook to a blank page and drew a sloppy pound sign in the margin of the page. Alice watched, her breath hitching with hiccups from crying.

“You need to decompress, sweetheart,” Kara explained, handing her the pencil. She got up, tapping the symbol with her index finger. The older girl took a glass from the cupboard above the toaster, and filled it with cold tap water. “Are you gonna be an X or an O?”

Alice sniffled, “An O.”

Kara smiled, setting the glass beside Alice’s notebook. The younger girl knew the drill; sip the water and take deep breaths. Kara drew a neat X beside Alice’s O in the small chart, and they ended up playing about three games of Tic-Tac-Toe before Kara finally moved on to help her sister with her homework.

“So,” she wrote the first math problem down on the lined notebook paper. “Show me how  _ you _ have been doing this. I’ll stop you when you’ve missed a step, okay?”

Alice took a deep breath and nodded, taking her green and blue pencil back. She began doing the problem, trying to fit her own handwriting in the spaces that Kara’s own tight handwriting left. The older girl watched fondly, tilting her head a little.

“Drop this number.” She chirped gently, pointing out one of the missed steps. Alice nodded and followed instructions. Before long, the girls had gotten the first three problems done, and Alice had long division almost memorized.

“Copy all of this down on to your page, and then try the rest on there, okay?” Kara smiled. Alice was calmer now, and simply returned the smile before beginning her work. “Next time you get confused, look at this notebook page. Not during quizzes though.”

“I know.” Alice giggled, making her older sister grin in relief. The sound of footsteps above the kitchen caught Kara’s attention, and she realized that it was Adam coming downstairs. The paused at Luther’s door, and then a set of stomping sounded on the stairs. The two boys entered the kitchen, Adam looking bleary eyed (probably from video games) and Luther still wearing his glasses. Alice looked up at her siblings curiously.

“Where are you guys going?” she asked, pausing her work on the third to last math problem.

“We have a football game to watch at school. Luther is gonna stay home with you, though.” Adam chewed the inside of his cheek, shifting from foot to foot. Kara glanced at him sympathetically. Her brother didn’t want to hurt Alice’s feelings and she understood that concern completely.

“Oh, okay…” Alice looked down at her work. Luther stepped forward and spoke up, his heavy steps causing the floor to creak under him.

“Since you don’t have school tomorrow, I was thinking that we could pitch a tent in my room and watch movies, Alice.” He offered. This caught the child’s attention, and she smiled big and with excitement. Her nod was enough to blow all of the nervous energy from the room. Luther looked at Kara and she smiled gratefully at him.

*

_ “Ashford seems to be making a beeline for the next point against Jericho…” _

“Football sucks, why are we even here?” North huffed, crossing her arms and hugging herself against the wind that whipped her auburn hair around in the dusk. Josh stood beside her, munching on freshly popped popcorn that he got from the concession hut. Markus rolled his eyes and looked around the crowd of students again, searching for the familiar blond glow of Simon Mcloughlin.

“I promised to meet someone here.” He stated simply, rubbing his hands nervously. The smirk on North’s face told him that he had just made a mistake in telling her.

“You’re telling me, that lady-killer  _ Markus Manfred _ has a crush on someone?”

“No,” Markus turned to look in the other direction  _ and _ hide the red dusting over his freckled cheeks. “I made a friend is all. Maybe I can get him to join Forensics.”

“Who is it?” Josh asked, as if dying to know.

“Um… Simon?”

“Like… The priest’s kid?” North prodded, face screwing in to one of what looked like panic. “Daniel Mcloughlin’s brother?”

“I don’t know, North,” Markus shrugged, turning to face his friends again. “I don’t go to this school.”

Josh and North gave one another a look of shock before smiling knowingly. Markus had a crush, whether he knew it and liked it, or not. Simon was going to be tricky to set him up with, but with Josh’s organizational skills, and North’s “charisma”, it would be possible. She of all people, knew what Markus liked, and she would always be happy as long as he was.

“Markus, there he is.”

The teen boy nearly fell over, swivelling around and looking in the direction that Josh was pointing. He saw the familiar pale golden sheen in the sea of students. In fact, he saw a pair of matching blonde heads. One was very obviously Simon, making himself small and looking tired like the times Markus had seen him before. Beside Simon, was almost the spitting image of him. The copy of the blond was a bit taller and visibly broader, a bit more colour in his face as well.

Simon broke away from his doppelganger to greet Markus and his group of friends. The other blond disappeared into the crowd, without looking back. Simon grinned at the three and gave a shy wave.

“Hey,” he said, shrugging his shoulders against another burst of wind. Markus wanted to keep him warm, give him his jacket or something. All Simon had on was a tight knit cardigan over a baby pink polo shirt. “Sorry to be late. My dad kind of forced Daniel to come with me.”

_ So, the carbon copy was Simon’s twin brother, _ Markus assumed, biting his lip curiously. He smiled at the other and shook his head a little, “No need to apologize. I understand.”

North and Josh snickered a little and mumbled amongst each other, before the more reckless of the two piped up. North seemed to be quite the conspirator in situations like these.

“Let’s go sit down! My feet hurt from standing.”

Simon shrunk into himself from guilt, “I’m sorry. I should really be quicker next time.”

“Simon,” Markus put his hand out, as if calming an animal. “Really, it’s okay. North complains all the time.”

The boys all laughed, leaving North to scowl at her best friends and Simon. As they climbed the stairs of the bleachers, Markus formulated different conversation starters. He was used to speaking with curators and business men as if an algorithm dictated what he said, or he wrote out each rhyme and syllable for competition. The boy wasn’t used to just  _ talking _ to other teenagers. He was the local delinquent, the mysterious kid that Jericho preps scoffed at. He turned around to smile at Simon.

“So, h-how was your day?”


End file.
